Slub catcher



Jan. 31, 1956 w. L. PERRY 2,732,610

SLUB CATCHER Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l I jrzverzior JIZZ'IZZ a L,Ze7'r a 9 I g Jan. 31, 195-6 SLUB CATCHER Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 w. L PERRY 2,732,610

Jan. 31, 1956 w. L. PERRY 2,732,610

SLUB CATCHER Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 31, 1956 w. PERRY 2,732,610

SLUB CATCHER Filed July 29, 1950 4 SheetsSheet 4 Application July 29,1950; SerialNo. 176,625 reclaims". cl. 28-64 This invention relates toslub catchers and is most useful Whenappliedas" an improvement upon slub catchers of the type described in-the United States patent application of samuelL. Abbott, Serial No: 60,847, filed'Novem'ber 19; 1948, now Patent No. 2,625,732. The said Abbott application describesa slub catcher which has no parts that are required to move during detection of a slub, but which has an improved ability to distinguish finely between the normal thread or yarn on the one hand and objectionahle enlargements such as slubs-on the other hand. allwithout injuring the thread when such objectionable enlargements are riot encountered. The slub catcher of the said- Abbott application further is especially adapted to allow normal knots to pass along with the normal thread ,--without causing the thread to break as in the case ofi-aslub:

Among the objects of the presentinvention are" to improve the-arrangements by which a slub catcher can be opened,-and= to provide an improvedmode of exposing normally inaccessible surfaces, while at the'sarne' time assuring that the predetermined normal relation of or posed members of the slub-catcher will be accurately restored upon closure of the slubcatcher.

A further object of the invention is to maintain two members of the slub catcher inmutually abutting relation while displacing one member relatively to the other in such manner as to bring the members out of their normal alignment and expose both normally opposed closely disposed surfaces of the'two members.

A; further object of the invention is to permit the slub catcher to beopened by rotational movement of one membet in a'direction such that thepull of a slub or-th'e like upon the slub catcher is ineffective to open the slub catcher. s

other objects of the invention and advantageous featuies will be apparent from this specification andits accti' dying drawings in which the invention is further iiied by the description of a preferred form thereof.

Fig; -1 is'afront elevation br ne head portion stone of the traveling winding unitsof a traveling spindle windingraaehine, omittihg sbme of its parts, and showing the winding 1min a's-equi ped With a "sliib catcher of the present inventiong Fig. 2 is-a right side elevation of the apron or cover plate of the winding unit or Fig. 1, with the slub catcher carried-'therehyg' l Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing theslub catcher of Fi'g i- 1-in-ari opeh condition;

Fig. 4' a view similar to Fig. 2 showing-the slub cateherinaii ope-h condition;

Fig. is a fragmentary view onan enlarged scale taken hh fthelifi'e 5 "'5 of Fig. 1, showing the exit side of the fena iett a e blades stare shin catcher, i I of Fig. 1, on an enlarge scale: view-showing the reverse side or the mem- United States s 2,732,610 Patented Jan. 31, 1956 bers shown in Fig. 5, that is,.show'ing the entrance side ofthe slub catcher;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the thread-engaging.

portions of the's'lub catcher, taken from the same point ofview asFig. 1 but on a larger scale; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1.

Although of general applicability in the textile industry, the slub catcher of the present invention will be illustrated by way of example as applied to a traveling spindle winding machine'comprisin'g a largenumber of traveling winding units adapted to wind yarn or thread during their travel in a closed path around the machine.

The head portion l0 and upright portion' 1 1- of such a winding unit and upper rail 20 of the track of. such a machine are shown in Fig. l of the accompanying. draw ings, it v being understood that the winding unit travels along the track 20 from right to left.

As shown in Fig. 1, yarn or thread indicated at T, coming from a suitable supply bobbin on the'lower portion of the traveling winding unit, runs upwardly and in contact with the outer faces of yarn guide blocks 21.and22 which extend outwardly from an apron plate 24 at the head of the winding unit, and thence to a reciprocating thread guide 25 and onto the winding yarn or thread package P which is rotated by frictional contact with adrive roll 26.

A pair of guide rods 27, 28 are secured to' both of the guide blocks 21 and 22, and lie closely adjacent to each other at guide blocks 21 and 22 so as to center the yarn in its vertical path from the lower guide block 21. to the upper guide block 22. Between the guide blocks 21 and 22 the thread may be acted on by any suitable tension device, for instance a pair of yieldinglyoppOseddi'sks of plates 30, 31.

The slub catcher of the located to act on the centered vertical run of thread betweenthe guide blocks 21 and 22, and comprises two normally opposed inner and outer members 40 and 41' inclined to the normal path of the thread anddefining a plurality of cooperating slots or passages encountered by thethread. The thread normally passes as in Fig. 1 vertically upwardly between the right-hand portions of the two members 40 and 41. The member 41 preferably terminates somewhat short of the end of the member 40 and also has its outer corner rounded, which insures that a threadmoving upwardly under tension will draw against the outwardly facing surface of the inner member 40 and thence into the passage between the two members 40 and 41-. H s

A guide 35 having a shoulder 35 maybe adjustably positioned on the apron plate so that the shoulder 35 accurately determines the point at which the thread de partsfrom the vertical when deflected laterally bythe slub catcher assubsequently described. Adjustment of the shoulder 35 toward the slub catcher decreases the sensitivity to slubs and adjustment of the shoulder away fromthe slub catcher increases the sensitivity to slubs.

Each member 40' and is preferably formed of two elements rigidly secured together to act asa single member. Thusmember 40 is shown as formed of an upper elemeht 40 and a lower element 40 both secured to a bracket 43 (Fig. 9), and member 41 is Similarly shown as formed ofan' upper element 41 and a lower element 4'1 beth'securedto a bracket 43*.

The thread 'en'gaging or right-hand end portion as viewed in Fig. 1, of each element 40*, 40 41 41 is cut away diagonally along "one edge as best shown in Fig. 6, solthat, when assembled in operative position the diagonally 'cut-a'way portionsfcoopefrajte to forth an inte riot passage 44 extending longitudinally'of the members "10 and 41. The passage demarks the opposing faces present invention is preferably of the members 40 and 41 into blade portions at the upper or exit side and at the lower or entrance side of the members 40 and 41.

At the upper or exit side of the slub catcher the upper blade portions define between them a first slot indicated at 50, of appropriate width to permit the passage therethrough of normal thread, and to exclude the passage or at least obstruct the ready passage of any substantial enlargement. In a typical instance in which the thread may be considered to have a diameter of .008, the slot 50 may have a width of .009.

At the left of slot 50, the upper blade portions together define an enlarged exit 51 laterally removed from the normal path of the thread and through which enlargements deflected thereto by the slot 50 can leave the slub catcher upwardly. This exit 51 preferably has a width many times that of the slot 50 or of the diameter of the normal thread.

The central passage 44 thus provides room through which a short unobjectionable enlargement such as a nib or knot can run along the entering side of slot 50 during deflection to the left, and reach the exit 51.

The blade portions at the lower or entrance side of the slub catcher define at their outer portions an enlarged entrance portion or mouth 52 at the normal vertical path of the normal thread. This entrance portion or mouth 52 should be of a width adapted to permit unobjectionable enlargements such as nibs or knots to pass freely therethrough to the upper blades, and may for example have a width of .062".

The entrance portion or mouth 52 tapers to the left of the normal vertical path of the thread, into a second slot indicated at 53 which is preferably of the same width as the first slot 50, that is, of a width to permit passage therethrough of the normal thread when the normal thread is deflected into this second slot 53 by reason of an enlargement encountering the first slot 50 at the exit side of the slub catcher.

A reduced width or tapered extension 54 of the second slot 53 is adapted to serve as a snagging slit and extends laterally beyond the path of the thread as deflected to the exit 51 by the first slot 50 alone, this reduced width extension being in position to receive thread deflected thereinto by an enlargement such as a slub encountering the second slot 53.

The left end portion of this reduced width extension tapers to a much narrower width than either the first or second slots, and in fact as shown, tapers to form a slit having an imperceptible width at its end, and will induce breakage of any thread reaching this left end portion.

Thus, as in the construction disclosed in said Abbott application, a short unobjectionable enlargement such as a nib or a knot will be deflected by the first slot 50 and will travel up through the passage 44 and leave through the exit 51. The normal thread immediately behind this enlargement will be deflected into the second slot 53, but will not be reacted on by this second slot and will not enter far enough into the tapered reduced width extension 54 to be snagged and broken by the very narrow left end portion thereof. When the nib or knot reaches the enlarged exit 51, the thread resumes its normal vertical course, without having broken.

On the other hand, a somewhat longer enlargement such as a slub, when deflected by the first slot 50, will cause a following part of this same slub to be deflected into the second slot 53. If not immediately caught and broken there, the slub will be deflected further by the second slot into the reduced width extension 54 where snagging and breakage will surely result.

It will be understood that when a slub encounters a slot of not much greater width than is required to pass the normal yarn, such as the second slot 53, the slub will tend to flatten out and squeeze through the slot, but that the inclined slub-deflecting blades, even though the slub is squeezing between them, can be utilized to deflect the slub into the snagging slit through which the slub is unable to squeeze.

Beyond the passages traversed by the yarn or thread, the member 40, composed of elements 40 and 40 and the member 41, composed of elements 41 and 41 abut at a common plane at which the abutting faces of these elements are accurately ground flat surfaces. The necessary cutting away of the stock of these elements, to form the surfaces that define the several yarn passages, is. preferably also done by grinding, accurately related to the flat surfaces which abut. The two members 40 and 41 are thus accurately positioned relative to each other by abutting at their flat ground surfaces in a common plane and the widths of the several yarn passages are accurately established.

Aside from the inner upper element 40 being cut out with a simple rectangular cut to form one-half of the exit 51 and the two inner elements 40- and 40 being diagonally cut away as above described, it is preferred that all of the cutting away of the four elements to form the yarn passages shall be performed upon the two outer elements 41 and 41 Thus the surface portion of element 40 that forms an upper blade at the slot 50 (Fig. 5) and the surface portions of element 40 that form the lower blade at the mouth 52, the second slot 53, and the tapered extension 54 (Fig. 7), are all in prolongation of the common plane surfaces at which members 40 and 41 abut.

The members 40 and 41 are pivotally connected upon an axis transverse to the direction of lateral deflection of a thread by the slub catcher, to permit relative displacement of these members by rotation of one of these members around this axis to disalign the two members and expose both normally opposed faces that define the thread passages and snagging slit. Figs. 3 and 4 show the slub catcher thus opened and the blade portions of movable member 41 withdrawn from the thread. It will be observed in Fig. 4 that even though the members 40 and 41 are angularly disaligned they still abut along the same common plane at which they abut in their normal relation. Thus the device maintains a mutually abutting relatron of opposed flat surfaces of the two members 40 and 41 both in the normal position and in the open position attained by rotary sliding of the movable member 41 upon the fixed member 40.

The movable member is shown as rotatable about an axis located on the side of the vertical course of the thread toward which the inclination of the members 40 and 41 is adapted to deflect the thread. In moving to the open position the blade portion of the movable member moves in an are having not only a component transverse to the normal direction of travel of the thread, so as to withdraw the movable member from the thread, but also having a component opposite to such normal direction of travel of the thread. Thus a pull of the thread upon the slub catcher in its closed position, as when a knot or slub is encountered, tends to keep the slub catcher closed rather than to open the slub catcher.

The inner bracket 43 which holds the inner member 40 is preferably fixed to a bushing 60 (Fig. 9) which has a reduced diameter threaded portion 60 extending through the apron plate 24 and clamped thereto by a nut 60.

The outer bracket 43 which holds the outer member 41 is preferably fixed to a spindle 61 which is rotatable in the bushing 60 as a hearing.

A combined compression and torsion spring 65 is connected at one end to the spindle 61, abuts against a shoulder 60 on the bushing 60, and has an end portion secured to a pin 67 which is fixed to the apron plate 24.

The axially expanding action of the spring 65 between its point of attachment to the spindle 61 and the shoulder 60 forces the spindle 61 inwardly, holding the outer member 41 in firm abutment against the inner member 40. i The torsional action of the spring 65, between the spindle 60 and stationary pin 67, yieldingly urges the rotatable outer member 41 toward its normal" position of Figs? land 2. A stop element 70 on rotatable member engages the upper surface of member 40:to sto'p the I rotatable element 41 in itsnormal position. of Figs. 1

The slub catcher isadapted to be automatically opened and closed as the winding units pass any one or more places in their path of travels With the winding units moving to the left in Fig. 3, a stationary pin or cam element 75 extending inwardly toward their path of travel is adapted to engage an upstanding extension 43 of the rotatable bracket 43% to tilt the bracket and the outer member 4, 1 around the axis of'spindle 61 to the open position of Figs; 3' and 4;

If necessary or desirable; suction, of an air jet, or any other cleaning means, can be" applied to the slub catcher as it passes in the open condition, buttordinarily, since all yarn-engaging surfaces oftl'ieslub catcher are exposed and both ce pe'rating'niembers are inclined downwardly hen open,- mere periodic opening is sufficient to keep them clean. p p

The movable member 41 when returned to normal position is in its original accurate relation to the fixed member dil with the several thread passages .at their r i al W dt T ea t o in mb nat q wit he l h O movable guide 35 in varying the sensitivity is more fully described in a further application of Samuel L. Abbott for Slub Catcher, filed on the same date as this present application, now Patent No. 2,640,252 and directed to this feature.

I claim:

1. A slub catcher including two members having mutually abutting surfaces and having normally opposed faces defining a passage between the two members adapted to receive a running thread, the said members being inclined to the course of the running thread so as to deflect the thread laterally along said passage in a direction toward said abutting surfaces when an enlargement is encountered, and said two members being pivotally connected on an axis transverse to the direction of such lateral deflection of the yarn and being angularly displaceable, by relative rotation with respect to each other around said axis, while maintaining mutually abutting relation of said surfaces, so as to open said passage and expose both of the two normally opposed faces which normally define said passage, means for yieldingly urging one of said members in a direction which is toward the thread passage and the other member in the normally opposed relative position of said members, said yieldingly urging means being constructed to continue to urge said one member toward said other member during said relative rotation, and mechanism for causing said relative rotation of the members with respect to each other during such continued action of said yieldingly urging means.

2. A slub catcher including two members having mutually abutting surfaces and having normally opposed faces defining between them a thread passage having a tapered snagging slit, the said members being inclined to the normal course of the running thread so as to deflect a thread enlargement laterally of said normal course and into said slit, said two members being pivotally connected on an axis transverse to the direction of such lateral deflection and being angularly displaceable, by relative rotation with respect to each other around said axis,

while maintaining mutually abutting relation of said surfaces, so as to expose both of the two normally opposed faces which normally define said snagging slit, means for yieldingly urging one of said members in a direction which is toward the thread passage and the other member in the normally opposed relative position of said members, said yieldingly urging means being constructed to continue to urge said one member toward said other member during said relative rotation, and mechanism for causing said relative rotation of the members with respect to each other thread laterally along said member being secured to the spindle,

during such continued action ofsaid yieldingly urging means. a V

.3; A- slubcatcher including two members having mutw ally abutting surfaces and having normally opposed faces defining a passage between the two members-adapted to receive a running thread, the saidmembers being inclined to'the course of the running thread soas todeflectthe passage in a direction toward said abutting surfaces when an enlargement is encountered, and the normally opposedfaces also definingbetween said members asnagging slit eifective to break the thread upon defiectionof an enlargement thereinto and said two membersbeing pivotally connected on an axis transverse to the direction of such lateral deflection of the thread and being angularly displaceable, by relative rotation with respect to each other around said axis, while maintaining mutuallyabutting relation of said surfaces, so as to open said passage and expose both of the two normally opposed faces which normally define saidpassage and said snagging slit, means for V yieldingly urging; one of said members in a direction which is toward the thread passage and the other member in the normally opposedrelative position of said members, said yieldingly urging means being constructed to continue to urge said one member toward said other member during said relative rotation, andfneclian s" for causing said relative rotation of the iifiefiibers with res ect to each other during such continued action of said yieldingly urging means.

4. A slub catcher including two normally aligned members having mutually abutting surfaces and also having normally opposed faces defining between them a thread passage having two slots at the two sides of said members at which the thread respectively enters between and leaves said members, said normally opposed faces further defining between them an enlarged bore extending longitudinally of said members and communicating with said slots, one of said members being displaceable with relation to the other said member into position to expose simultaneously both said faces while maintaining abutting relation of said surfaces, and means for yieldingly urging one of said members in a direction toward said passage and against the other said member.

5. A slub catcher including normally opposed fixed and movable members having mutually opposed flat contacting surface portions and a pivotal mounting permitting rotary sliding of one of said members upon the other with said surface portions in contact, one t least of said members being cut back from the plane of its fiat contacting surface portion to form a thread passage in con junction with the other member.

6. A slub catcher including normally opposed fixed and movable members having normally opposed portions defining a thread passage between them, a spindle on which said movable member is mounted and spring means arranged for rotatably and axially biasing the spindle to urge the movable member toward closed position in angular alignment with the fixed member and urge the movable member toward the fixed member axially of the spindle, the fixed member and the movable member having mutually opposed flat surface portions held in contact by said spring means.

7. A slub catcher including a fixed member and a movable member, a bushing adapted to be secured to a support, a spindle extending through the bushing, the fixed member being secured to the bushing and the movable a spring tending to rotate the spindle and movable member, and a stop for stopping the movable member in alignment with the fixed member, the spring being adapted to yield to permit the movable member to be rotated out of alignment with the fixed blade.

8. A slub catcher including a fixed member and a movable member, a bushing adapted to be secured to a support, a spindle extending through the bushing, the fixed member being secured to the bushing and the movable member being secured to the spindle, and a spring urging the spindle axially in a direction to hold the movable member against the fixed member, the members having flat, mutually opposed surfaces held in contact by the force of said spring both when the movable member is aligned with the fixed member and when the movable member is rotated out of alignment with the fixed member.

9. A slub catcher including a fixed member and a movable member, a bushing adapted to be secured to a support, a spindle extending through the bushing, the fixed member being secured to the bushing and the movable member being secured to the spindle, a spring tending to rotate the spindle and movable member, and a stop for stopping the movable member in alignment with the fixed member, the spring being adapted to yield to permit the movable member to be rotated out of alignment with the fixed member, said spring also urging the spindle axially in a direction to hold the movable member against the fixed member, the two members having flat, mutually opposed surfaces adapted to be maintained in contact by the force of said spring.

10. A slub catcher including a fixed member and a movable member, a bushing, adapted to be secured to a support, a spindle extending through the bushing, the fixed member being secured to the bushing and the movable member being secured to the spindle, a stop for stopping the movable member in alignment with the fixed member, and a spring arranged to be under both torsion and compression between the spindle and bushing so that the spring tends to rotate the spindle and movable member to hold the movable member in stopped position in alignment with the fixed member and the spring also urges the spindle axially to hold the movable member against the fixed member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 737,164 Sheridan Aug. 25, 1903 1,039,285 Houghton Sept. 24, 1912 1,663,857 Peterson Mar. 27, 1928 1,870,152 Taylor Aug. 2, 1932 2,172,566 Olson Sept. 12, 1939 2,292,986 Barnes Aug. 11, 1942 2,522,751 Doll Sept. 19, 1950 2,563,814 Brink Aug. 14, 1951 2,623,265 Abbott Dec. 30, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 292,503 Italy Jan. 21, 1932 448,277 Great Britain June 5, 1936 729,664 France May 2, 1932 

